Charlatan's Flaw
by spectral-phoenix
Summary: Daniel Fenton is a young adult who has learned to survive using only his father's suit, good looks, and his ghostly powers. After running away at the age of 14, Danny learns he can survive by conning others. When he meets Vlad Masters, his skills as a Con Artist (and his ghost powers) greatly improve which leads Danny to believe he can return to his home... (full summary inside)DxS
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hi people! This is my first real fanfic type thing ever (cuz that Last Of Us thing was just a small idea thingamabob). Anyways, this first part is going to be written differently from the rest of the story, since I want the actual story to be at least semi serious and not just comedy or whatever. Thanks for taking the time to look at my story and sorry for grammar mistakes (and bad puns).**

**Daniel Fenton is a young adult who has learned to survive using only his father's suit, good looks, and his ghostly powers. After running away at the age of 14, Danny learns he can survive by conning others. When he meets Vlad Masters, his skills as a Con Artist (and his ghost powers) greatly improve, which leads Danny to believe he can return to his hometown for a few weeks for the biggest payload of his life. But what happens when a girl named Samantha Manson is thrown into the mix? AU, right after Danny gets his powers. No PP.**

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**Prologue, I guess**

**The portal: A few minutes after the incident**

I don't know exactly why I did it, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I can see I was dead wrong. Emphasis on the _dead _part. See, the thing is, I'm pretty sure I'm dead now. My skin is ice cold and my hair and eyes changed color. How does that even happen? Anyways, when I stepped into the ghost portal my parents designed, I thought it was no big deal. I mean, really, what could go wrong in a non functioning device? After all, my parents had tried to make it work several times before I stepped in, literally. Why would _I _make a difference? Well it turns out that Danny Fenton + Broken Ghost Portal = Working Ghost Portal + Unconsciousness. Not to mention unbearable, excruciating pain. And death, don't forget about death.

**A few minutes after the few minutes after the incident**

Well, it turns out I didn't die after all. What a relief. Actually, not really, considering my situation. After I freaked out a bit – okay, a LOT - at my death _and_ new appearance, I realized that I was in fact a ghost. This realization caused me to faint – _again_. Hey. Shut up. I'm pretty sure if that happened to you, you wouldn't be laughing. Anyways, the only good thing that came from me fainting was that when I woke up, I was normal, _alive_.

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I have no idea whether that ghost stuff was a dream or not but I really hope it was because you know what? If I really am part ghost, if not all ghost, then I have to leave my home and family. Mainly because of two reasons. Those two reasons being my parents. You see, you know what my parents are? Professional ghost _hunters_. In the 14 years that I have known them, they have never shown mercy to any ghost no matter how big, small, funny, mean-looking, or nice-looking the ghost was. So if some new ghost just popped out of nowhere claiming it was their son Danny Fenton then I'm pretty sure they would try to kill it…I mean, me. Or at least tear me apart molecule by molecule, as my dad puts it. See, I've thought this through. If I transform in front of them, they'll just think it's some ghost that probably killed their son and impersonated him or something. And as I said before, they'd try to kill me or tear me apart molecule yada yada yada. You get the point. Therefore, I have decided with a heavy heart to leave my family. Yeah, cheesy, I know. But what other choice do I have?

**Three days after the incident:**

Uhhh okay, it turned out that my ghost side was _not_ a dream, so for the past two days, I have been trying to get a hang of it. The cool thing is that I have powers now. When I turn into a ghost, I can fly, shoot beams out of my hands, lift super heavy objects, turn invisible, and turn intangible. I'm like ghost Superman! Well, if Superman had a ghost. Anyways, the joking aside, these powers really do show me that if I stay here any longer then my life will be put in danger. By my own parents too! Who'da thunk it? Well, I've made my choice. Sorry Mom, Dad, and Jazz. I never meant for this to happen.

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**And that's the end of the first part in the beginning of a long (I hope) story. Since I'm just starting out with writing stuff, updates may take a while, especially for this one, since it's the first one. I don't know exactly how long, sorry. Also, since school is starting soon (Aug 25th), I may not be able to update as much as I want to. Like I said before, this first part is going to be written differently than the rest of the story, the actual story. Still debating on third or first person, although I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Anyways, thanks again for taking the time to read this. Rating may change. I DO NOT own anything relating to the thing I'm writing about, except for MY OWN ideas.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Thanks to all the people who read the first part of this story and thanks to ShadowDragon357 for being my first reviewer EVER. I tried getting this part out as soon as I could since I wanted to give you guys a taste of what the story is actually going to be like. It's basically a more detailed prologue. I changed it from first person to third since I felt like that would be better for this story. Thanks again and here is Chapter 1. Sorry for any writing mistakes too.**

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Charlatan's Flaw Chapter 1:

Daniel Fenton sat down at the desk in his parents' workshop and tinkered with the small inventions tossed haphazardly inside a medium sized box. He liked coming down here to see what new gadgets and gizmos his parents were creating. They used their inventions to fight against ghosts and other weird things. Their newest invention was located at the end of the far wall – a ghost portal. Supposedly it was created to connect the ghost world and the human world so that his parents could research ghosts more effectively. He wondered about what kind of awesome things would be on the other side of it. So far, it was their proudest achievement. Well, it would be if it actually worked. Danny got up and slowly made his way to the portal.

A few days ago, his parents had finished it after years of work. They had told Danny and Jazz that once they had made a prototype during their University years but stopped after an accident. The accident was never specified, although his father, Jack, had always seemed guilty whenever it was mentioned. Danny sighed and looked at the portal. It was made entirely out of some special type of metal his mother had created and accented with a neon green, like all Fenton products. It was very tough and durable, yet very light and resistant to the various environmental changes. Just like the metal on the Ops Center at the top of their house and the metal his father's thermos was made out of. Danny was about to look inside when he heard footsteps overhead.

"We'll be back later, Danny. We're late for Jazz's 6 o'clock speech at the high school. It's a pity that you don't want to go," Maddie shouted from the top of the stairs leading to the basement, "oh and remember that we'll come back at eight to pick you up for dinner!"

"Yeah I know, mom."

"And don't forget to turn everything off in the basement when you're done!"

"I know," he yelled back, exasperated. He'd only been in the basement a billion times before.

"We'll see you in about 2 hours, okay? Bye!"

"Yeah, I'll be waiting!"

Danny waited until he heard the Fenton RV roar out of the driveway. He looked over at the control panel near the ghost portal. It seemed to be functional. It was plugged into an outlet and the dials were all on the number five setting. Every light on the panel was glowing and the wires were fastened to the wall, unlike the wires inside the portal. Those were strewn all over the floor, tangled with each other. Danny was about to enter the portal when he saw a sign in his mother's handwriting near the entrance which read:

_Danger. Hazmats required_

"Whoops. That could have been messy," he chuckled to himself. Danny looked inside the boxes near the Fenton Thermos and found two hazmat suits. One of them was blue and looked too big for him. The other one was white and seemed to be his size but had his father's face on the front of the chest area.

"I can't go walking around with this on my chest," he told himself. He hastily ripped the sticker off of the suit but in doing so, part of the backing stayed on. "I hate when that happens," he said as he tried to get the sticker bits off, starting at the middle. The glue was too strong and Danny gave up on it. He walked over to the portal, opened it from the control panel, and stepped in. The heavy doors opened and revealed the inside of the broken device.

The lights inside the portal gave it an eerie glow. Danny kept walking until he hit a giant mirror at the edge of the portal, "Well, I guess this is it," he sighed, "what the heck is this thing for?" He gently touched the mirror, taking care not to break it in case it was more fragile than it looked. There seemed to be small wires behind it. These must be the things that make it work,he thought. "It doesn't look like anything is wrong on the inside…maybe I need to check the control panel again," he said softly as he started walking towards the entrance of the ghost portal.

He was halfway there when suddenly a light above him sparked loudly, causing Danny to curse and stumble. His left foot got caught in the bundle of wires and he tripped. Trying to catch himself, Danny threw his hands out in front of him on the wall – right on the "ON" button.

As soon as Danny's hand pushed the button, all he could do was scream. Blinding whiteness filled his vision and unbearable pain spread throughout his body. He felt like he was being torn apart and he wanted it to stop. He wanted it to stop so badly. He wished he would just die so that he wouldn't have to deal with the pain anymore. After what felt like an eternity, it stopped.

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Danny woke up to an aching body and wet eyes. He drew in a shaky breath and tried to get on his feet but he fell back to the ground. He looked at his foot and saw the tangled wires around his white boot. His white gloved hands moved to untangle them but stopped halfway. Danny looked over at his boots and gloves again, noticing for the first time that they were _not_ the color they originally were. He looked down at his suit. It was black now, not white like it used to be, just like how the gloves were white now, not black.

Shocked, he quickly untangled himself then went to the mirror at the end of the ghost portal. It was glowing faintly green now and swirled around. He could barely make out his reflection in it but what he saw made him almost fall _again. _Danny was looking at himself but it wasn't him. The boy in the mirror had hair the color of snow and bright green eyes.

"Oh what the _hell _just happened?" He shouted. Then, at that moment, he started to float upward towards the ceiling. Danny started flailing and freaking out. He put his arms in front of him to stop from hitting the ceiling and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact but it never came. Danny opened his eyes and was shocked to see that he was floating _through_ the floors of his house. He was currently passing through the kitchen which was located right on top of the basement and under his room.

"Oh my god. I'm dead aren't I?" He managed to cry out before he passed out...again.

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Once again, Danny woke up sore but this time, he was sprawled on the floor of his room. He quickly looked at the clock in his room. It was only seven thirty. His parents and Jazz had only left an hour and a half ago. "I'm not dead," he exclaimed happily, "I'm _not _dead!" He got up on his feet and headed to the bathroom. Once he got there, he looked at the mirror and saw that his hair and eyes were normal, not ghost-like. The hazmat suit was normal as well. He ran down to the kitchen, stopped at the basement door, and wondered whether what happened was a dream or not. His clothes, hairs, and eyes weren't weird colors anymore so Danny was confused.

He took a deep breath, then opened the door that lead to the lab. Nothing seemed out of place. Danny exhaled and walked down the stairs. He slipped the hazmat off, headed towards the ghost portal, and then looked over the controls. He pushed the open button and waited for the portal to reveal nothing behind the heavy doors. To Danny's surprise, there was a bright green glow swirling around the mirror at the end of the portal. "Whoa, I guess it actually works now," he said, a bit puzzled, "but did it start working because of what _I_ did? I guess it really wasn't a dream then."

But what about the whole "I was a floating through things looking like a ghost" thing? Am I dead? Is this a hallucination? Man, this is too crazy for me to think about. What if – his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Fenton RV pulling into the driveway. A few seconds later, his mother's head appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Danny, we're back! Are you ready?"

"Yeah mom, be right there!"

"Danny, why is the lab glowing?" she asked as she started walking down the stairs.

"Uh, that's the ghost portal," he said awkwardly.

"The ghost portal? How?" she exclaimed as she ran down the remaining steps, "it wasn't working before! Did you do something to it? Jack! Get down here!"

"Um, well you see, mom," Danny stammered, "I uh just kinda…tinkered with it?"

Danny's father walked down the stairs, "What is it, Maddie? A ghost?!"

"Danny's fixed the ghost portal!" she told him, ecstatic.

"What? The ghost portal's working? Good job Danny! Seems like you get your fixing skills from your old man!"

"Heh, yeah dad," Danny chuckled awkwardly, "so, um, don't we have reservations at a restaurant or something?"

"Well, that can wait, son. What we have here is a lot more exciting than any old restaurant!" his father boomed excitedly.

"Unless you've been planning this dinner for months!" Jazz stormed through the basement door, "Come on, we have to go! Mom!"

"She's right, come on let's go. Jack, we'll check out the portal when we get back," Maddie told Jack and Danny.

They all piled into the Fenton RV and sped away to the restaurant, arriving there just in time. After the waitress showed them to their table, each Fenton ordered their meal and waited. Danny felt super starved after the whole "fixing the ghost portal" ordeal. The food finally arrived and Danny dug in. He was having a great time eating and was halfway done with his food when his spoon just slipped from his invisible hand. Wait, _invisible?! _Danny looked at his hand. Last time he checked, his hand was NOT invisible. Or intangible for that matter.

"Oh crap," he said, eyes wide.

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**Well, there's the first chapter. Hopefully it isn't too bad. The next chapter will deal with new stuff. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made, I didn't have time to check it over. Did you guys guess that the partially ripped sticker is shaped like a "DP"? Well, if you didn't, now you know. Anyways, I still don't know how long it'll be for each chapter to come out either. At most, probably two weeks and shortest time would probably be once a week. Thanks again and till next time!**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews so far! I tried getting this chapter out as fast as I could too, but I got distracted with stuff. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made. It's also a bit longer than the others. Anyways, here it is!**

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Charlatan's Flaw: Chapter 2

Yesterday felt like a dream to Danny. All that had happened to him didn't really seem possible, after all, how could getting super powers from a freaky lab accident be real? That only happened in comic books and movies! Danny groaned and got up from his bed. He felt really tired and sore. He showered, changed his clothes, then started walking to the kitchen while thinking about the situation at dinner last night.

After his spoon passed right through his hand, Danny couldn't wait to go home. He didn't want his parents to think he was a ghostly imposter and not their son. He didn't want Jazz to think that he had some problems he wanted to talk about – not that he _didn't_ want to talk about it to someone, but Jazz was different. He wished he could talk to Tucker but he moved away. Tucker wouldn't judge. Meanwhile Jazz might think that he was going crazy. Finally after a nerve-wracking 45 minutes, with only two other utensil mishaps, the Fentons left the restaurant. Danny went straight up to his room while his parents went straight to the lab. He jumped on his bed and after a few minutes, fell asleep.

Danny arrived in the kitchen, yawning. "Tired, little brother?" a voice asked.

"Yeah, Jazz," Danny replied sleepily, "Yesterday was pretty tiring."

"Really? It didn't seem like you did anything yesterday, lazy bum," Jazz said with a joking smile on her face.

"Whatever Jazz. You wouldn't understand. Anyways, so where are mom and dad?"

"Danny, don't you remember? They said they were going to go to some ghost hunter speech today and part of tomorrow. Honestly, I feel like that's a waste of time. They're just feeding their unhealthy obsession with ghosts by –"

"Yeah yeah, filling in some void that blah blah blah. I get it. You've only said this a million times before, Jazz," Danny said as he interrupted her, "so what's for breakfast?"

"You're going to have to figure that out yourself, I have to get to class early today so I don't have time to eat. I can't give you a ride to school today either, sorry lil bro," she replied. "Anyways, I'll see you after school. Gotta go, bye!"

"See you later!" Danny said as Jazz grabbed her keys, walked to the door, and left.

"Alright, now let's see what there is to eat!" he said as he opened the fridge, regretting it as soon as he did, because he remembered why he should not have opened it. The reason being because of the dreaded _leftovers_. Now, in a normal family, leftovers would not be a problem. It's just food, but with the Fentons, leftovers were vicious, nasty things. Especially the hotdog leftovers. They would probably eat you if they could. Danny and Jazz figured that their parents' ghostly experiments were the cause of the life-like, bloodthirsty tendencies. Danny tried to close the fridge door but was too late. About ten hot dog wieners jumped out of the fridge and began to attack him. Danny grabbed the closest thing to him which was…a frying pan.

Danny swung the frying pan left and right but the hot dog wieners just kept coming. He tried stepping on the ones near his feet but they were too fast. Finally, after ten minutes, Danny smashed one on the floor and managed to throw it quickly back into the fridge. Only nine left. Danny grabbed a Ziploc bag and put oven gloves on. He grabbed three of them and hastily put them in the bag, then threw it inside the fridge. Six left. He grabbed two in one hand then tried to open the fridge with his other hand but he just phased through it. "Oh CRAP!" Danny yelled as he fell. He picked himself up and phased out of the fridge, leaving the hot dogs inside. Four left.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Danny asked himself as he swung the frying pan again, hitting one right into the sink. He maneuvered the pan so that the hot dog wiener would fall into the drain, then he covered the drain with the frying pan and switched the garbage disposal on. Three left. Danny got a big pot then tried catching the remaining three with it. He managed to get two of them inside then phased the pot inside the fridge. One left. "That was actually pretty cool," he said as he looked as his arms, which turned back to normal. He ran to the basement and got the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. Then he slugged the remaining hot dog wiener out of the air, through the kitchen window. "Whoops, I didn't mean for that to happen," He said as he looked at the broken window. Danny looked at the clock and saw that he had taken 30 minutes to dispose of the remaining nine leftovers. School started in 15 minutes. Danny panicked, grabbed a pack of pop tarts from the pantry, went up to his room and grabbed his backpack then ran to the garage. He turned his scooter on and zipped away to school, getting there just in time.

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Danny locked his scooter, ran through the halls, and jumped in his seat right before his class started. Health class usually started on time and Danny didn't want to get on Ms. Tetslaff's bad side. Especially so early in the morning, considering he had her for P.E. too. After spending half an hour teaching about how the body reacts to different food choices and styles, Ms. Tetslaff began talking about the project for next week – child care and learning how to be responsible. Danny groaned and zoned out for the remaining 25 minutes of class. He wasn't really interested in the project right now. Finally the bell rang. He got up, packed his backpack, and started walking to his next class. Once he turned the corner, he was pushed to the ground…by none other than Dash Baxter.

"Hey Fen_turd_, what are you doing walking this way? I thought I told you you weren't allowed to walk in this hallway," Dash told him with a stupid smile on his face.

"Dash, you know this is the only hallway to get to the other classes, so you can't tell me what I can and can't do," Danny replied angrily as he got up from the floor.

"You're right, Fen_tonio_, but I _can_ make you do things. For example," Dash said as he got his homework out of his bag, "do this for me by tomorrow and I'll let you pass."

"I don't think so, licking your shoe would be better than helping you pass a class," Danny said as he tried to push his way past Dash and Kwan.

"Oh really?" Dash asked with a smirk on his face. "Then, let's have you do that instead! Kwan, hold him down!" He pushed Danny down again. Kwan held Danny down. "Lick it, and I'll let you pass."

I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I? Danny thought. He could see no other way out of this, especially with a big guy like Kwan holding him down. "I think I'll take the homework now," he tried to word his way out of his current situation.

"Nice try, Fen_toad_, but that deal has expired. Now, _lick my shoe,_" Dash said as he forcefully put his foot right in Danny's face.

Danny couldn't believe what he was about to do. He didn't want to lick Dash's shoe but he also didn't want to be late to his next class. Looking at his outcomes, going late to class would have worse consequences than a shoe lick. Danny gulped and closed his eyes. He stuck his tongue out and licked Dash's shoe. "There!" he said as he spat on the floor. Kwan let him go.

"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Dash laughed and started walking away. "See ya later, Fenturd."

Danny flipped him off then ran through the hallway towards his next class. The first bell rang. Danny gasped for breath. He still had time; the tardy bell hadn't rung yet. He was nearly there, just one turn around the corner and he would be there!

Gradually, Danny noticed that he was getting slower and shorter. _What_? He thought. What is going on? Danny looked around then at his legs. They were going _through_ the floor. Slowly, he stopped but he was still sinking. Danny tried pulling himself up but he couldn't. He started panicking then sinking even more. He looked around for something that could help him up. On his left, he saw a water fountain but he couldn't reach it. It was too far away. Danny tried to make his way there, slowly doing so. He reached up, grabbed the water fountain, and pulled himself up. "Yes!" He cried. Danny ran around the corner and saw the door to his next class. As soon as he did, though, the late bell rang. "No!" he said as he ran towards the door, tripping and falling inside the door.

"Nice way to make an entrance, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer drawled. "This is your second tardy this week. Keep it up and you'll get a detention."

"Sorry Mr. Lancer, it's just that –"

"No excuses now get to your seat and get your notes. Can't you see that class has already started?"

"Yes, sir," Danny stuttered as he made his way to his seat. Phew, he thought. I was pretty sure that I'd get a detention this time. Danny sat down and got his notes.

Mr. Lancer began to teach about the different themes present in Lord of the Flies, stating more than once that it would be on the test at the end of the week. He continued for 20 minutes before handing out an assignment that was due at the end of the period. Individual work, no groups, no talking.

Danny started working on his worksheet. He got stuck on question 16 out of 25 with only 10 minutes left. Then Mr. Lancer's voice rang out, "Paulina, can you please collect the homework due today? And please write down the names of the students who did not do it."

"Yes, Mr. Lancer," She replied

Paulina got up and started at the front of the row. Danny looked through his backpack and found the papers. He looked at the front page. _Nothing._ "Oh no," he whispered. How did I forget about this? He thought frantically as Paulina moved closer and closer. At any other time he would have been happy that she was walking over to him but not now. How could he forget? Stupid! He was failing this class. He _needed_ all the full credit he could get. With all the thinking, Danny didn't notice that his legs were slowly turning intangible. Paulina walked over and asked for his homework. "Uh, I don't have it," he whispered. She nodded, wrote his name, and moved on.

Suddenly, Danny crashed to the floor face first. The students around him started laughing.

"First you come late to my class, then you fall asleep in my class. What shall I do with you, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer said as Paulina gave him all of the homework and the paper with the names of the students who didn't have it. "_And _you didn't do the homework."

"Mr. Lancer, I-"

"That's enough, Danny. I think what you need is a detention. See you after school." He said as the bell rang.

Danny picked himself up off the floor and walked out of the classroom.

He started heading towards the P.E locker room to change early incase anything "ghostly" started happening again. He didn't understand _how_ this was happening to him. Danny figured that the pass through the ghost portal had given him ghost powers. But it didn't really make any sense. The only place where that would make sense was a comic book. Although, after thinking about what was happening to him, ghost powers kinda did make sense to Danny. He sighed as he walked out of the locker room and into the gym. Class should be easy today, he thought. Today they would only be playing volleyball after all.

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Danny was completely and utterly wrong. Class started out normal – taking attendance, getting into teams, and playing volleyball. It was smooth sailing until the last ten minutes of class, when Danny's shorts turned intangible and fell off, revealing his heart boxers. He'd already been laughed today. He didn't need to be laughed at again. It was even worse when Paulina started laughing too. Danny left the gym after Tetslaff told him he could go. Not that it helped anyway. The news would probably be going around school already. Danny changed into his regular clothes and started walking to his science class. He got there a bit early and sat in his seat next to his friend, Mikey.

"I heard about what happened in P.E. today," he told Danny.

"Yeah, I'm sure you have. I'm surprised you haven't posted about it, though," Danny replied, irritated.

"Well, I didn't feel like messing your day up more," Mikey told him with a friendly smile on his face. "Especially after what happened with Mr. Lancer."

"I guess that makes sense. Thanks. You're a very thoughtful friend," Danny told him sarcastically as Mr. Poluka entered the classroom.

"Yup," Mikey agreed with a small laugh. "So, ready for the lab today, partner?"

"What lab?"

"Alright class, time for the lab we're doing today. Remember to handle the glass very carefully and wear goggles at all times," Mr. Poluka told them.

Oh no, this is not going to be good, Danny thought.

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And boy oh boy was Danny correct. He dropped a beaker within ten minutes after starting the lab and then another one just five minutes after the first. Well, not really _dropped. _More like the beakers phased through his hands. Mr. Poluka banned Danny from handling glass items for the rest of the day. He didn't do it in a mean or angry way, though. He calmly told Danny that the science part of the school was low on money so they couldn't have people dropping things left and right. That's why Danny liked Mr. Poluka. He was always calm. He didn't get angry at students; instead, he helped them make good academic choices along the way.

"Now, who needs more time for the lab?" Mr. Poluka asked the class

There were murmurs of "I do" and "Us"

"Everyone? Alright. I'll give you all 20 minutes at the beginning of class tomorrow," He replied. "See you all tomorrow!"

Everyone shuffled out of the class and headed to lunch. Mikey walked alongside Danny.

"So, any idea how long Lancer's gonna keep you after school?" He asked as they got in the lunch line.

"Nope, but it's probably gonna be a long time," Danny said as he got his lunch tray and picked food out.

"That sucks, man. Well, I have to go meet up with the computer club during lunch today," Mikey told him as he finished grabbing his food. "See ya!"

"Yeah, see ya,"

Danny picked up his lunch tray and started walking to the table where he always sat but he didn't see the person coming from around the corner. Danny crashed into him, causing all the food to fly everywhere. "Oh, sorry!" Danny said quickly.

"Don't worry, man. It's all good. I didn't see you either." the boy said as he turned around. It was Kwan.

"Really?" Danny asked him, incredulously.

"Yeah man, if it was Dash, then –" He started but right then Dash interrupted.

"Kwan! What are you doing? Teach him what happens when you mess with us!" he yelled from halfway across the cafeteria.

"He said it was an accident! I can let it slide. It wasn't -,"

But Dash wouldn't take that as an answer. He walked over and pushed Danny around. "No, Kwan. You know what we have to do now," he said with a wicked smile on his face. "Swirly!"

Danny booked it. He ran from the cafeteria and sped through the hallways, trying to outrun Dash. Finally, he got inside an empty classroom and hid.

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When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, Danny peeked out from the classroom and he headed to his math class. He didn't really pay much attention to the teacher. He paid more attention to Dash who sat a few rows next to him. When the bell rang, Dash looked ready to go after Danny but the teacher called him over to discuss test scores. Dash did not look happy about that. Danny took advantage of it and hurried to his last class, history.

History was a blur. Danny didn't remember what happened for the most part. Both in class and in…well, history. He wasn't paying attention today. Not after all that had happened to him. Particularly not after what Dash said he'd do. Getting a swirly was not fun. Especially in Casper High boy restrooms. It seemed like the janitor didn't even care. Luckily there was a sub so all they did for class was read and complete an extra credit worksheet. Danny tried doing it but stopped halfway through, zoning out again. When the bell rang, Danny rushed over to Lancer's classroom to avoid Dash.

"Um, hey Mr. Lancer," he said awkwardly.

"Ah yes, Danny. Sit please," he said. "I know there are some others who have detention today as well so please be patient while I wait for them to arrive," he continued.

A few minutes later, a couple of other students arrived, including Valerie Gray and Kwan. Mr. Lancer started talking about why each student was there and gave out an essay prompt. He told them they had an hour to finish five pages, single spaced. Danny groaned mentally. He didn't want to do this. He slowly started his paper and got to the second page with 40 minutes to go.

All of a sudden, there was a glowing green _thing_ just floating in the middle of the classroom. Danny couldn't make out what it was. It seemed fuzzy. Like an out of focus picture. Then, without warning, it roared and grew clearer. It was an octopus-like ghost. It started flying around the room, flipping desks over and screeching.

"Class is dismissed, forget about the papers, just run!" Mr. Lancer yelled as they all ran. They didn't need to be told twice.

Danny ran outside and made a beeline to his scooter. He jumped on it and zoomed home. About 30 minutes later, he heard Jazz come in.

"Hey, Danny! I'm back!" Danny heard his sister yell from the kitchen. "Do we have anything to eat?" she asked.

He heard the refrigerator open but it was too late. "Jazz, NO!" he yelled from the top of the stairs after he got out of his room. "LEFTOVERS!"

Jazz screamed.

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Danny and Jazz had taken only 25 minutes to get rid of the leftovers. _All_ of them, which was about 24 hot dog wieners. Danny had taken about 40 minutes to get rid of 10.  
"Thanks, Danny," Jazz wheezed as she flopped on the counter.

"Yeah, you too, sis," Danny panted, sitting on the floor.

"What a way to bond family, huh," she chuckled, re-doing her hair band. "Well, that whole incident just put me off till dinner. What about you?"

"Yeah, me too. In fact, I don't think I'll eat ever again!" he laughed. "Um well, I'm gonna go down to the lab. Call me if you need anything, I guess."

"Sounds good," she replied.

Danny headed off to the basement and sat down at the desk. A new invention was on the table.  
"What is this?" he wondered as he picked it up. He looked at the tag:

_Fenton Finder_

"There is a ghost nearby," a voice called out loudly and suddenly.

"Oh crap! No no no no no. They can't have finally made a ghost sensor thing that finally worked!" he cried out, trying to turn it off. Alarmed, he flipped it over and looked for some sort of switch or button to shut it down but he couldn't find it. His fingers slipped and he dropped it. The voice immediately stopped. "Oh god," he exhaled. "I can't believe it actually works. I didn't mean to drop it but I hope that did the trick. I can't have my parents find this though. Better take it for a little bit while I figure out what to do with it."

Danny took the Fenton Finder and went up to his room.

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**So that was the end of this chapter. Most chapters after this one will likely be this length or even longer, depending on what I would like to add or what I feel would fit in the chapter. Sorry that he hasn't run away or met Vlad yet, in case you wanted to see that in this chapter. Next chapter will definitely have that, I hope. Thanks for all the reviews!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks again for all the reviews. I am ****_so _****sorry for being so late with the update, it's just that my school schedule didn't leave me time to write during the weekday, since I commute. Homework kept me from writing on the weekends. Like always, sorry for ****_any_**** mistakes I may have made. Anyways, here is the next chapter. I made it a bit longer to try to make it up to you guys. Thanks for being patient.**

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Charlatan's Flaw Chapter 3

Danny dreamt he was flying through the skies that night. When he awoke, he realized that with his "ghost powers" (he still didn't really believe that's what they were), he could probably fly. He did it once before anyway when he floated through the ceiling, even if that happened without him wanting to. Danny figured he could do it nonetheless.

"How would I do it, though?" he asked himself quietly, not wanting to wake Jazz. He remembered that when he woke up in the ghost portal, he had a different appearance. "Maybe I have to change into my 'ghost mode'," he told himself with a chuckle. "Now how do I do that?" Danny looked at his hands. "Change!"

Nothing happened. He went to the bathroom and looked himself right in the eyes.

"Come on! Change!" Nothing. He groaned loudly and looked at his face, puzzled. What could he do? How could he make himself turn into a ghost? Heh, go ghost, that sounds like some cheesy catchphrase, he thought.

"Come ON!"

All of a sudden, Danny felt a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. It felt just like how when one's foot falls asleep. He yelled, "Go ghost!" and two bluish white rings formed at the base of his stomach. They moved opposite ways, one moving up and the other moving down. Blinding white light filled the bathroom. Danny opened his eyes and stared at the person looking at him from the mirror. He had white hair, green eyes, and a black suit with a white, sort of rough letter "D" on the chest area. His gloves and boots were white as well.

"Holy shit, it actually worked! …This can't be real. Well, since I _am_ transformed, I might as well _try_ to fly." He reasoned. Danny stood up straight and clenched his fists. He closed his eyes as he started to concentrate.

After a few minutes, he felt different and he opened his eyes. Nothing had happened. He was just standing there in the bathroom. Danny groaned then he tried again, this time he tried to focus on just floating. This time when he opened his eyes again, he was astonished to see he was levitating several inches off of the bathroom floor. He was happy until he started flying up at a much faster pace.  
"No no n-!" His words were cut short as his face hit the ceiling. "Ouch," he thought. The ceiling and his face parted by a few inches. When Danny realized why, he cried out and braced himself for the impact. He fell to the floor with a CRASH! Danny grumbled and rubbed his limbs. He had fallen on his elbows.

"Danny? Is that you? Are you okay?" Danny heard Jazz's voice as footsteps became louder and louder.

"Yeah! Don't worry, I'm okay! I just…tripped!"

The footsteps stopped. "All right then." Jazz said.

Danny listened to Jazz's footsteps fade away from behind the bathroom door and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Man, that was close…Now, how do I change back?" He said, puzzled. "It can't be any harder than going ghost was, right? Going ghost? That sounds better," he chuckled as he thought about changing back into a human. Danny closed his eyes. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. He tried again and this time he felt the same tingly sensation but when he tried to "grab" it, it just slipped away.

"Damn it! How the hell does this work?" He yelled, exasperated. He sat down on the counter and suddenly a shocking thought occurred to him.

What if he couldn't change back?

His parents would really "get rid" of him then. Or tear him apart molecule by molecule, at the very least. He wouldn't be able to stay in his house, even his own city without being hunted down and taken captive. Or worse – killed.

"Oh no, no, please," he pleaded to no one in particular, "please change back."

Danny blinked back tears then tried once again. He closed his eyes and this time when the sensation occurred, he thought about turning back and the two glowing rings appeared near his stomach again. He looked in the mirror and saw himself. His normal self.

"Yes! It worked!" He exclaimed happily. He ran to his room, changed, then ran down the stairs, and went into the kitchen.

"So...you were in there a while." Jazz looked at him warily.

"Uhh yeah...I was um...taking a shower," he mumbled.

"Your hair isn't wet."

"I- I didn't wash my hair this time." He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I see." She gave Danny another weird look. "Whatever you say lil bro. So, anyways, you need a ride to school?"

"Nope. I think I can get there by myself today."

"Are you sure?" Jazz asked, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I mean walking won't really hurt me. And it'll keep me in shape too. Gotta get ready for that president's um fitness test thing, after all."

"Well, alright then. See you later!"

"Yeah, see you too," he replied as Jazz walked out of the door.

"Now…let's see how 'walking' will go…"

* * *

The breakfast he ate was threatening to come back up again. Danny didn't think to eat a little less before he started flying. Honestly, he didn't know how a full stomach would affect his flying skills. Not that he had any to begin with. He hadn't realized that being so high up in the air would make him sick. He gulped and hoped his food would stay where it was.

"Note to self, don't fly right after you've eaten a lot," he told himself, his hand half covering his mouth.

Danny continued his flight to school. It wasn't _so _bad. Apart from the whole "don't know how to fly" thing. Right before he left for school, he practiced flying for a few minutes again and when he thought he was ready, he flew farther into the air and headed for school. He really thought he had it down but it turned out he was wrong. Very wrong.

Danny could not fly straight or at the same pace for any long length of time. The only good thing that came out of this was that it was a little better than walking and that being this high up in the air made for a great view. Except, that view was beginning to make Danny sick again. This time he didn't think he could hold in his food. Danny tried to descend and in doing so, he lost control and started falling.

"Oh shit!"

This time he really did think his food was going to come back up. He actually felt it rising up. Soon his panic overthrew his desire to puke. His descent was quick and sudden – and Danny couldn't seem to stop. It felt like going down a roller coaster after a huge hill. Out of all the ways he could have died from, he was going to die by falling. Just because he was stupid enough to think he could fly.

"_No_! I'm not dying today!"

Danny looked down and saw the ground rapidly approaching. He willed himself to stop or at least slow down. He shut his eyes and waited for the landing – which wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Danny looked around where he had fallen. He seemed to be lying down on some soft cushions.

"Why would there be cushions in an alley?" he thought as he rubbed his arms and legs where he had fallen.

On closer inspection (and smell), he realized that he was, in fact, _not_ lying on cushions. He had landed on some trash bags in a very unsanitary dumpster. Danny groaned and jumped out, picking a banana peel from his head and throwing it down on the ground.

"Great. This is just what I needed." Danny looked around and saw that he was a few blocks away from school. "Now…I hope I can actually change back with no problems this time."

* * *

"Hey Fent_oad, _you reek! Don't you ever shower?" Dash laughed as Danny walked across the hallway to his locker. "Ugh, I don't even want to shove you in your locker today. Your stench might rub off on me."

Danny ignored him and kept walking. He got to his locker and walked to his next classroom, hoping that his "stink" really would keep Dash away. It actually did – but not for the rest of the day.

Even though Dash wasn't the brightest tool in the shed, he could still come up with good ideas. Although, not good for Danny. Since Dash didn't want to have physical contact with Danny because of his stink, he figured out different ways he _could_ bully him without touching him – by using spit wads, food bits, and footballs. And so, the rest of Danny's school day was horrible. It was made even more horrible because of the fact that even his friends wouldn't go near him and because he was wearing mismatched clothes given to him from his school.

Not to mention Paulina wouldn't even talk to him at all. Sure, the only words she spoke to him went along the lines of "loser, nerd, geek, unpopular" and so on but hey, at least she noticed him. By the end of the day, Danny had been banned from handling glasswork for the rest of the semester, he had been forced into the gym showers by Dash _in his regular clothes_, causing him to get the mismatched school "loaners", and finally his ghost powers kept acting up, just causing trouble with teachers and people in general.

When Danny got home, he immediately took a shower and went down to the lab, hoping to clear his thoughts and forget about the whole day. He sat down on one of the stools and looked over at the ghost portal, thinking about how if that stupid thing hadn't been there then this day wouldn't have happened.

All of a sudden, a random breath came out of Danny's mouth. "Whoa. That was weird…" He looked around to see if his parents had made any other weird inventions that had caused this. Nothing. He turned back to the portal and saw a greenish, blurry, octopus-like thing emerge from the center.

"Oh not this again."

The octopus saw Danny and began to fly at him at a very fast pace. Danny ducked out of the way and looked around the boxes on the floor, trying to find something that would help him get rid of the ghost. All he found where inventions that were useless against ghosts in battle, like the Fenton Helmet and Fenton Phones. The octopus ghost roared and started to fly towards Danny again. Danny looked around again in a panic and saw the Fenton Thermos.

"I might as well try _this_. Dad was never able to find a ghost to use it against anyways."

Danny grabbed the Fenton Thermos and opened it. He pointed it at the ghost and pressed the button, but nothing happened.

"What?!" Danny looked inside of the thermos. There was soup inside! "Dad!" he exclaimed. He capped it again then threw it at the ghost but it just dodged the projectile. Danny looked to his side again and saw another thermos. This time he made sure there was no soup inside. He picked it up, uncapped it, pointed it at the ghost, and then pushed the button on the side. He felt a surge of energy go through his body and into the thermos. The thermos glowed with a blindingly white-ish blue glow then a ray of light shot out of the opening, encasing the ghost in a sort of tractor beam. The ghost didn't want to go without a fight. It roared while it tried to escape but the pull of the thermos was too strong and it was sucked in.

Danny capped the thermos and exhaled loudly as he let himself slide to the floor. "That was a close one. Well, it looks like this thing actually works," he chuckled. Danny tossed the thermos in the air and caught it. "That was enough excitement for one day. I better get started on my homework otherwise I'm seriously going to be in trouble."

Danny placed the thermos with the octopus ghost back on the workbench near all the other thermoses then he went up to his room. He got his homework out of his backpack and started working on it. Every time he started to slack off, his brain would remind him of Mr. Lancer and detention. Also how his parents would feel if he got anything lower than an A-. After all, he was a Fenton and Fentons always get A's. Or B's in his father's case. After a few hours, he heard his parents come in.

"Danny, Jazz, we're back!" he heard his mother exclaim. "I'm going to start making dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, mom!" he heard Jazz shout from her room.

"Danny?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Can't wait!"

"Alright, I'll call you both when it's ready."

Danny looked at the unsolved problem on his worksheet. He was almost done but he couldn't do this last set of problems. He groaned and looked over at his computer. He'd rather be playing Doomed than doing homework. He slouched in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. It was covered in glow-in-the-dark stickers of the planets and stars he and his parents had put up when he was younger, since his dream was to become an astronaut.

After a few minutes of staring off into "space", Danny looked down at his paper again. He picked his pencil up and flipped it but it fell. He leaned over to pick it up and but didn't see it. Or his legs. Danny gasped and sat straight in his chair, looking at legs which were not there. "Whaaat?" Danny stared at his legs and growled. "Why does this keep happening?!"

Suddenly a loud beeping pierced the air. "There is a ghost nearby. BEEP BEEP. There is a ghost nearby." Danny looked over at the ghost sensor in his room.

"Oh no," he said as he heard his parents' commotion in the kitchen.

"Jack! There's a ghost in Danny's room! Come on!"

"I'm on my way, Sweet Cheeks!" Danny heard his father's bumbling steps coming up the stairs.

"Oh no oh no oh no," Danny looked at his legs and tried to change them back. "Come on!"

"There is a ghost nearby. BEEP BEEP. There is a ghost nearby." That stupid voice just kept repeating itself over and over!

His parents burst into the room and Danny closed his eyes. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what, Danny?" asked his mom.

Danny opened his eyes, took in a huge breath of air, and looked at his legs. Wait, his _legs. _They were there again! "Um, I took the Fenton Finder from the lab without permission…and I accidentally dropped it right now." He rubbed the back of his neck. "That's why it went off right now. I think I broke it."

His father took a step forward. "So there _wasn't _a ghost in your room right now?"

"No"

His parents relaxed and put their weapons down. "Well, it's better to be prepared for anything than to suffer the consequences later," his mother said. "Anyway, dinner's ready. Come on down to eat."

"Sure, mom. So…you guys aren't mad?"

His mother looked at him in surprise, "No! Why would we be mad?"

"No reason, just asking. I'll just finish this last problem and then I'll come down. Is that ok?"

"Yes, Danny, but don't take too long. Otherwise it'll get cold."

"Alright, mom."

"I'll just be taking this back too, son. Maybe it's not too broken," his father picked the Fenton Finder off of his nightstand. His parents walked out of his room and down the stairs. Danny looked at his legs and poked them. "Nice to see you're working again," he said dryly. He glanced at his paper and finished the last problem as his hand turned intangible for a few seconds.

"This is getting annoying. I hope my powers don't go haywire anymore," he let out a long, exasperated sigh.

* * *

Danny woke up and all he saw was darkness. He felt coldness wash over him as well. "Oh god, did I die again?" He thought. He tried to get up but he hit his forehead on something.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

Danny stretched out his hands in front of him. He felt planks of wood and figured out where he was. Danny slid himself out from underneath his bed and looked up. It seemed as if he had fallen through his bed and onto the floor while he was sleeping. It must have been his ghost powers going off again. He sighed and looked at the clock on his nightstand. 5 o'clock am. No wonder it was so cold and dark. He got up and went to the bathroom to shower. When he returned to his room he plopped down on his bed and stared up at the glowing stars, wondering whether or not his ghost powers would act up today at school.

The truth was that he didn't want to go to school. After all that had happened over the past few days, going to school just seemed like trouble. Having "superpowers" wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Danny sighed and tried to go back to sleep. After realizing that he couldn't, he walked over to his closet and opened it. He looked up at suitcase on the top shelf and stared at it.

All of his previous thoughts about running away came rushing back. If he ran away he _could _try to make a new life somewhere. Somewhere far away from ghosts and having anything to do with them. He'd just have to leave the city somehow. Maybe take the train or a cab. Just go somewhere where no one would know him. Danny stared at suitcase again and decided to bring it down just in case. He reached out, grabbed it, and started to pull it down when right on cue, his hands turned intangible and he dropped the suitcase on his foot.

"God damn it!" He tried to whisper it so his parents and Jazz wouldn't wake up, but the words still came out loudly. He kicked the suitcase next to his bed then stared at his hands angrily. Danny left his room and headed down to the lab. He grabbed an empty Fenton Thermos when his hands "came back" and headed to his room, sticking the thermos into the suitcase. He grabbed several pieces of clothing and stuck them inside as well, for good measure. He kicked the suitcase under his bed and headed down to the kitchen to make something to eat before school. He heard someone coming down the steps while he was waiting for his waffles to toast.

"Hey Danny, you're up early today," he heard Jazz yawn.

"Yeah, I woke up earlier and couldn't go back to sleep." The toaster dinged and Danny grabbed his waffles. "You want some?"

"Nah, I think I'll make some eggs instead."

"Alright then," Danny looked at his crumbly waffles. "You don't know what you're missing, sis," he chuckled. He grabbed a plate and started walking to the table.

"Well, it's better than mutant hot dogs, right?"

"Yeah!" Danny laughed, then he looked at Jazz. Surely she could understand, right? Or maybe she'd think he was going crazy. Actually, she _would _most likely think he was going crazy. Especially since Jazz didn't believe in ghosts. If anything, she would try to help him overcome this "mental hoop" with her psychology.

"Umm, hey Jazz," he started, "I- uh… I-." Right then his father walked into the kitchen from the lab.

"Hey kids, good morning!" their father bellowed as he sat down. Jack looked over where Jazz was. "Hey Jazzypants, I'll take over on the eggs. I've got a new ghost spatula I specially designed for food and _ghosts_!"

"Um, okay dad. So anyway Danny, what were you saying?" she said as their father got up and started moving the eggs around.

"Uhh…" He glanced his father.

Suddenly the door to the basement opened and their mother peeped her head out.

"Good news! The Fenton Finder is almost fixed!" his mother shouted excitedly.

"Oh, _no,_" Danny thought. His hands turned intangible once more and he dropped his plate. Danny quickly walked over to the table and sat, hiding his hands under it.

"What's that? It's fixed?" Jack ran over to where Maddie was and picked it up. He flipped the newly added switch and it powered up.

"There is a ghost nearby. BEEP BEEP. There is a ghost nearby. Keep moving forward." The feminine voice was the last thing Danny wanted to hear.

"As soon as I find that ghost, I'm gonna tear it apart molecule by molecule!" His father roared and ran off

"But don't forget to keep a sample of it for science and experiments!" His mother told her husband as chased after him.

"Nevermind, Jazz" he told his sister a bit too forcefully.

His parents followed the trail of the ghost radar, moving through rooms, eventually ending up in front of Danny.

"Well, that can't be right," his mother said, puzzled, "Danny's not a ghost."

"Yeah. Right, son?" his father asked, "or _are_ you?"

Danny looked at both of them with a fearful look in his eyes. Jazz noticed.

"You know what? Danny doesn't need this type of negativity and stress on his mind from his _parents_ who are supposed to be caring for his safety!" Jazz yelled at Maddie and Jack. "Furthermore, your obsession with ghosts is unhealthy and you both should try to get into an activity that helps ease your fixation with them! Come on Danny, I'll drive you to school."

Jazz grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him away. They got to the garage and climbed into the car. Jazz drove to the high school. After several moments of silence, she spoke up, "So…are you sure you don't want to tell me what was on your mind earlier?"

"After that incident in the kitchen? Yeah, I'm sure." He said gruffly.

"Well…you know…you shouldn't keep your emotions bottled up inside of you. If you don't talk about something important then something seriously bad can happen to you. Physically or mentally. Sometimes even both." Jazz looked at him for a few seconds then looked back on the road, finally arriving at the high school.

"Stop trying to play the psychiatrist with me right now, Jazz. I'm pretty sure I don't want to talk about it anymore." Danny jumped out of the car as soon as Jazz parked it, then ran towards the school.

"Danny, wait!"

He ignored her and continued running to his classroom, hoping he would avoid Dash. He made it without any problems and hoped the rest of the day would be just like that.

* * *

For Danny, the third time was _not _the charm. The first and second school days were a hassle and he thought maybe the third day would be easier. He was wrong of course. To be honest, the whole school day was a blur. He couldn't really remember any part of it, except for the bad parts – which were repeat occurrences of the two previous days. He didn't wait for Jazz once school was over. Instead he tried using his powers and flew back to his house, his anger fueling him.

After checking that the Fenton RV wasn't in the garage, Danny made it inside and ran up to his room, grabbing the suitcase, his jacket, and his toothbrush. Then he made his way up to the Ops Center, heading straight towards the back of the room where the emergency ham was. He pushed one of the buttons in the fridge and waited for the safe near the wall to open up. He looked inside and grabbed $300 from the safe, slamming it closed when he was done.

Afterwards, he ran to the kitchen and saw a note taped to the fridge in his mother's handwriting:

_Danny, Jazz, Your father and I are going to be at the 80s restaurant for our dinner date. Please help yourselves to whatever's in the fridge or order some food. We'll be back around 8. Don't cause any trouble. __We love you! _

Danny stared at his mother's note for a few minutes, then, with tears in his eyes, he flipped it over and wrote his own note:

_Mom, Dad, Jazz. By the time you read this, I'll be long gone. Honestly, I wish this could have happened another way. I didn't _want_ it to be this way but I couldn't really see any other option.. I've decided that this may not be the best place for me right now and I hope you all see that this was the right decision for me to make, even though I can't really tell you why I made this decision in the first place. I really wish it could have been different. Please don't look for me. I love you all and please don't hate me._

- _Love, Danny._

Danny wiped away his tears and put the note back on the fridge. He grabbed his suitcase and walked to the door. He stopped midway and ran to his parents' bedroom, opening his father's closet and picking out a nice business suit from back in the day. He ran back down and stuffed it into the suitcase then ran up the stairs to the roof of his house. There, he struggled to transform again, flying away when he did transform and when got the hang of it again. He flew towards the Amity Park Train Station, looking back at his house one last time before it faded in the distance.

"The train station was a lot farther than I thought," he said as he saw the station grow closer in the distance. He had been flying for about an hour and a half. When he finally arrived there he checked the sign for the trains that were leaving. All the trains that were going somewhere far didn't leave quickly enough. Today seemed to have a limited schedule. So far there was only one option with farthest distance – New York. But even that one took a while to get here. After all, a train moving from New York to Colorado _was_ going to take a while.

He checked the map and schedule board again then walked over to the area where the different trains were, then he looked around to try to sneak onto one. He didn't really care anymore, he just wanted to get away as soon as possible. When he finally got to a train, he sneaked onboard and checked the train cars to find one that was empty. He found one and sat down, putting his jacket on and his hood up to make sure no one recognized him in case his parents had called the police.

After a several moments, the train finally started to move. He sat up straight and went on "high alert" mode in case someone saw him. After a few hours, Danny started to relax. He got up and went to the bathroom while the train stopped at its scheduled location. He still wore his hood up just in case. He wasn't going to take long anyways.

While Danny was walking back to his train car, he overheard some off-duty police officer's conversation.

"A missing kid?"

"Oh no…but that could be _any _missing kid." Danny thought.

"No, I can't look for him right now. I'm already on a train to Minnesota to visit my dying mother! You should have called sooner, back when I was in Amity! I would have been there in a flash."

Amity? There was only one "Amity" that his train passed through. Danny started walking a bit slower, trying to hear the rest of the conversation.

"Yeah, well, what's he look like? Uh huh. I see. Teenager, black hair, blue eyes. Did they give you any information about his clothes? What he was wearing? Yeah, I'll keep an eye out. I'll be there once I get on another train. Yeah, see ya." The officer hung up, then looked over in Danny's general direction. "Hey, kid!"

_Oh crap_

Danny didn't want to take any chances so he started walking faster towards his train car. The train started moving again and most people lurched with it. He didn't dare look behind him as he maneuvered through people. He finally got to his train car and peeked out, taking a glance at the cop who was still coming. He grabbed his suitcase and tried to exit his car from the back but he felt a hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"Hey, kid," the officer said once again. He grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"Uhh…yeah?" Danny asked him hesitantly.

The cop stared at him for a few seconds before letting him go. "Nothing," he said. Then he left Danny's car and walked away. Danny was left wondering why the cop hadn't said or done anything for a few minutes. He figured it was luck. He then sat back down and looked out the window. He hugged his suitcase for comfort. It was getting pretty dark out. Wait…right then he saw his reflection in the window. His hair was white and his eyes were green again. He must have inadvertently transformed while he was running away from the police officer. Danny was shocked. So shocked that he accidentally phased through the train car.

He landed on some grass near the train tracks. He would be lying if he said it didn't hurt.

"Good thing I was holding on to my suitcase," he groaned. "And at least I didn't pass out again."

He didn't want this to be happening. Not since his ghost powers were to blame for him leaving in the first place. This just proved that his powers manifested themselves during times of emotionally charged events. His emotions were the things that controlled his powers.

"No wonder I could fly almost perfectly when I was angry," he thought. He looked around at his surroundings, which were mostly trees. He shivered then started walking along the tracks, hoping he would find civilization soon.

After a while, he saw the dim lights of a city in the distance. He started walking a bit faster so that he would have someplace to sleep and eat soon. He finally got close enough to read the sign near the tracks – _Welcome to Wisconsin!_

* * *

Ever since he fell off the train three months ago, Danny had been living like he was on the run - not letting anyone know where he was staying, being on guard 24/7, changing his appearance, and moving from place to place. He had walked miles and miles until he had finally arrived at a city near the edge of Wisconsin. From there, he had been trekking through nearby cities, heading east, trying to get as far away from Amity as possible.

Danny had more or less learned how to use his ghost powers as well. He still didn't have complete mastery of them but at least _he _controlled when they were used or not. No random ghostly occurrences happened at all. And if they did, then Danny could control them and "turn them off".

With almost-full control of his powers, he was able to live in cities secretly. For example, whenever he arrived in a new city, he would fly and scout out an empty apartment room. Then he would phase through the wall and set his stuff up in a small space. This allowed him to get away easily if someone came in. He could also use the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc to live for a while. So far no one had noticed or caught him. He usually stayed in a town for two weeks, unless people began to get suspicious, then he would leave immediately. He would never go to towns that were right next to each other either.

After setting in, Danny would go near the shopping outlets wearing his father's suit and perform "magic", which, in reality was just him using his ghost powers to fool the audience. There he would get money from bystanders and random people walking through the city. After collecting the money from his box, he would count it all and if there wasn't enough, then he would steal wallets after his "show". Danny mainly targeted rich people, since he figured they had enough money, they wouldn't be missing it. He used this money to get food and other necessary supplies.

Two weeks ago Danny had almost been caught. He had been in the middle of his performance when some disgruntled person had called the cops after losing money. Danny had made a run for it and left most of the money behind. He didn't have time to grab it all. Ever since that day, he had had to ration his food and carefully spend his money until he could get more. He had passed multiple towns before he stopped.

He had arrived in a new town earlier this week, finding a nice apartment and setting up his stuff. He took advantage of having a shower stall, then headed out to the town's square. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself so soon after the mishap so he decided to just go out and find a place for a bite to eat. He checked his money and started walking around town, looking for some nice cheap place to eat for $6. He finally found some place that looked like the Nasty Burger except it was called the Tasty Burger. He walked in and checked the menu. Everything there was a lot more expensive than the Nasty Burger. The Nasty Burger would have had a combo for $5, this Tasty Burger had a combo for $8.75. Danny sighed and walked out.

He would have to get more money soon. As Danny walked around, he saw a grocery store nearby. He walked inside and looked around. There were a lot of customers but he only needed a few. He walked over to a man who was looking down at his shopping list and the different types of crackers on the shelf. He seemed pretty distracted. Danny looked around at the ceiling. The cameras were facing the other way. Good. He walked up behind the man and jumped to try to grab a box of crackers from the top shelf. He "missed" and fell down.

"Oh man, that shelf's a lot taller than I thought!" he exclaimed. Danny then turned to look at the man. "Excuse me sir, do you mind grabbing that box of crackers at the top? I need to buy some for my mother. She's allergic to wheat so I need to buy her the ones at the top."

"Sure, kid." The man reached up towards the shelf and Danny got up and phased his hand through the man's back pocket where his wallet was. He pulled out a handful of cash then sat back down on the floor where he fell. "Here ya go, kid," the man said.

"Thanks, sir". Danny got up and walked around to another corner of the store, not knowing that there was a witness to his actions. When he was completely out of sight, he opened his hand and looked at his loot.

"What? Just five dollars? All in ones?" he whispered. Danny looked around. No one was around in his little corner of the store. This would help him get food for the day and perhaps even the day after but it wouldn't sustain him for long. Danny looked around again and walked outside. "Maybe starting up the act wouldn't be too bad," he thought. "It's been two weeks after all _and_ I'm really far away from that town anyways."

Danny decided that was the best thing he could do. After all, he didn't want to steal from the grocery stores by turning invisible and intangible. That only landed suspicion on him even more and even quicker. I mean, who wouldn't suspect the new kid around town after things mysteriously started disappearing when he arrived? Danny flew back to his apartment, changed into his suit, grabbed his equipment, then headed back, flying down into an alley. As he emerged from the alley, he bumped into a well dressed man with graying hair and a ponytail.

"Oh, sorry sir. I didn't see you there."

"No worries, little badger," the man said. "Well, good day." The man walked away.

Danny walked over the fountain in the middle of the city and placed his portable table on the ground. He covered it in a small sheet and placed a hat on top. He began his act and after a while, a small crowd began to form. Little did Danny know, that man had been watching him from far away with interest. After all, one didn't meet another person with ghost powers that often. After most of the crowd had begun to disperse, the man walked over and watched to get a closer angle.

"Alright! Last one! Anyone else? If they guess correctly they take the whole pot!" Danny exclaimed with a smug grin on his face.

"I'll give it a try," the man said, holding out a hundred dollar bill. Danny's eyes grew wide and he tried to grab it. The man pulled it away, "Ah, ah, ah, not yet, you have to earn it first."

"Alright, here you go," Danny told him as he placed a small rock under a can and shuffled them all around at super speed. "What a chump," Danny thought, "He's never gonna get this."

Danny stopped shuffling, phased his hand under his small table and grabbed the rock, telling the man to choose which can held the rock as he did so. Danny smiled again. "Hello, hundred bucks," he thought.

The man pointed to the can on the far left. Danny lifted the can with a triumphant smile, "_Oh, _so sorry sir. You are incorrect!"

"Am I?"

This knocked Danny out of his happy daze. "What?"

He looked at the can. The rock was underneath it, just like the man guessed, but there was no way that could have happened. Danny looked at his hand. The rock wasn't there. "No!" he thought.

"I'll be taking this," the man grabbed the hat and began to walk away.

Danny looked at his back angrily then announced that he was done for the day. He waited for the small crowd to walk away before he put his stuff away, his gaze still on the man's shrinking back. He found a bush and placed all of his stuff there, going ghost and following the man while he was invisible. Danny had found out that he could use his powers while he was still human but when he was in his ghost form, he had a lot more control and power. Danny had no trouble finding the man, since he was so out of place with his tuxedo.

He found him walking towards a parking structure and flew up a few feet behind him. On several occasions, the man turned around and Danny swore the man could see him. When the man finally got to his car, he unlocked it and stood next to the driver's side door. Danny landed next to him and was about to pull his wallet from his pocket when the man called out to him.

"I know you're there, kid," he said. Danny thought he was just bluffing and tried to grab his wallet again. This time the man moved away and took his wallet out of his pocket. "Is this what you want?" he asked, waving the wallet around. "You know, there's another way to live without having to steal money and food. If you show yourself, I can tell you what you can do."

Danny realized the man wasn't bluffing and in fact _did _know he was there. Danny eyed the wallet. He thought about what the man had said, weighing the pros and cons then he showed himself.

"Well, here I am. Happy now?" he asked the man with a glare on his face. "It's my money. I earned it fair and square, so give it back."

"Fair and square? I think not. _Cheating _is not fair and square. I saw what you did with the rock under the table."

Danny's eyes grew wide again. "What? No, you couldn't have."

"Well, It's not every day you see a kid with ghost powers."

Danny couldn't get the shocked expression off of his face, "How do you know that?"

"Let's just say I've had my fair share of experience with ghosts. Now, do you really want to take this wallet and continue living on the streets, stealing to live?"

"…No."

"Then think about my offer – come live with me. You'll get a house and I can help you control your ghost powers, teach you about them. Maybe you'll even learn how to be more productive with them."

Danny thought about it then looked at the man, "Why should I trust you? Hell, even if you did know about ghost powers, what could an old man like you possibly teach me about them and how to control them?"

"Hm…what really?" the man looked at Danny, "Well, let's see, maybe it's because of THIS."

Danny watched as the man transformed. He now had blue skin and a weird hairstyle with two points at the end, like huge horns. He was now wearing a white suit and a cape. His eyes were red.

"I can show you how to do this," the man made copies of himself and they surrounded Danny. "What will everyone else say about you, once the Guys in White eventually find you? You won't be able to walk down the street or do anything normal then. Now, what do you say?"

Danny looked around at the copies surrounding him. He thought about what the man had said and realized the truth. After all, the Guys in White had been patrolling potential ghost areas more frequently. They hadn't gotten to this state yet, since they were starting at the west coast. Danny looked at the original ghost in front of him.

"Fine," he said.

"Good choice, my lad," he transformed back into his original self and walked around to the passenger side door. "Here you go," he opened the door.

Danny walked over and looked at the man, "Why are you helping me?"

"Those first years of having my ghost powers were the worst years of my life," the man looked down sorrowfully then looked at him, "I even lost the love of my life. I'd hate for you to go through something like that." He smiled. Danny looked at him for a little longer, not entirely believing him, then got in the car.

He thought about everything and decided that if anything _did _go wrong, he could just fly away. If nothing went wrong, then he would have a house far away from his original one.

"Oh…um…thanks for taking me in, sir. I'm Danny, by the way…um, just Danny."

The man got in the driver's side door and tossed Danny his wallet.

"Nice to meet you, Danny. My name is Vlad Masters."

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**So there was the latest chapter, hopefully it wasn't too bad. I was too lazy to read this over again to check for mistakes, so sorry if there were any. Obviously, I adapted some parts of the first episode so it could kinda fit. Anyways, now that I know when I can write, it'll probably be a monthly update at most and two weeks being the least. It also depends on how long the chapters are going to be, so I might make them moderate length, not too long and not too short, but filled with enough to get through. Thanks for the reviews! **


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